Materia Shows the way Forward for Georgian Fashion

June 29, 20171,362 Views

“Materia” means fabric in Georgian, a winning name for a fashion house based in Tbilisi. Fashion House Materia offers its customers a premium clothing line Matériel and more affordable products under the Dots brand.

Clothing produced by the company can be spotted being worn by representatives from various public institutions in Georgia: the army, police, post office staff and many more.

It works closely with the Georgian rugby federation producing uniforms for the national team’s junior players and wide range of rugby clubs, including Goris Jiki, which won this year’s domestic club championship.

“The fashion industry is gradually becoming trendy in Georgia and attracting international attention. This is logical because when tourists arrive they are less interested in the big retail chains, [and more interested] in unique and original pieces,” said Lado Giorgadze, CEO of Fashion House Materia.

“We cooperate with experienced designers and also have open doors for ideas from young creators.”

With shops in the capital and the seaside town of Batumi, Fashion House Materia dates back to 1949. The firm has undergone a major transformation and rebranding since Soviet times, moving from public to private ownership.

It is one of the key players in the Georgian fashion industry, recently in the spotlight thanks to the likes of Demna Gvasalia of Balenciaga and a number of other emerging talents.

Until very recently, Fashion House Materia had been leasing premises with outdated facilities and equipment that was not fully suitable for a sound manufacturing process. But the firm was one of the first to benefit from the EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line.

Materia secured financing from local partner Bank of Georgia to modernise their equipment and machinery and to introduce the best workplace health and safety practices for a newly built and owned clothing factory.

The EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line initiative helps interested businesses to make the most of open access to the EU, the world’s largest trading block, by modernising their production and services in line with EU standards.

Through local partner banks, the EBRD offers up to €380 million in credit lines and trade finance. This is complemented by over €19 million of EU funds under the EU4Business Initiative for up to 15 per cent investment incentives and technical assistance. In Georgia, the EBRD and EU partner with local TBC Bankand Bank of Georgia.

“The credit line offered by the EBRD and EU was the best fit for us. We focus on continuous development – boosting our competitiveness, increasing the quality of our products, taking care of and creating better working conditions for our people. This is what makes our company stand out,” said Mr Giorgadze.

“This particular financing facility helped translate into reality our ambition of running a company with high European standards.”

The investments purchased sewing machines, software programmes for drawing and formatting to optimise fabric use, cutting equipment and more, all fully compliant with the relevant EU directives. The manufacturing process now runs like clockwork in the new five-storey building.

Inspirational ideas from designers are collected and, with new machinery in place, the entire process has become more efficient, delivering products of the highest quality.

Well-functioning electrical and fire safety systems, personal protection equipment, modern electro-mechanical heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) all make work more enjoyable for the company’s almost 200 employees.

Mariam Papinashvili, a tailor at the factory, believes that a comfortable and safe working environment can contribute to production efficiency and overall team spirit.

“In future, I plan to pursue a career as a designer and it is very useful for me to have an opportunity to see each step of the production cycle,” she said.

“The new equipment makes my work so much more enjoyable. I learn new tricks of the trade and overall grow together with the company.”

Mr Giorgadze added: “During the whole project cycle, we were guided by the team of consultants while renovating and equipping our new premises. Their free-of-charge consultations helped us to plan and navigate better from day one to project completion. This assistance ensured that each of our investments in equipment and technology was in line with EU standards, and that was our primary objective.

“The cash-back we received was also an extremely interesting product and we plan to apply these funds to further enhance our quality-management systems.”

Currently, Fashion House Materia exports its products to European, Central Asian and neighbouring countries. The firm presents its products at a multi-brand store in New York and fashion lovers worldwide can purchase favourite items online. But the company plans to expand and reach more European markets.

Several influential European buyers have already expressed interest in Fashion House Materia.

The newly refurbished clothing factory, operating under the highest standards and supported by institutions such as the EBRD and EU, certainly boosts the confidence of buyers in creating partnerships with Materia.